07/31/2019
Copied from another baker from a private page:
I’m going to post something a little different today. I recently posted this in a private group, but was requested to make it public so it could be shared. With a few changes, these thoughts can be applied to many different custom businesses, not only to bakeries!
I see lots and lots and lots of posts in various groups looking for custom cakes/cookies/cupcakes, etc. There are lots of talented bakers out there, and on behalf of all custom bakers, I wanted to post a little bit of education regarding pricing.
We have allllll seen it. That word... AFFORDABLE. The thing is, that word means something different to every person. What is affordable to you isn’t affordable to someone else. If you have a price range you’re looking to stay within, do yourself and us bakers a favor and SAY what you’re looking to spend. It will save your time and ours!
Secondly- there is a reason the phrase “You get what you pay for” exists. Custom products are more expensive, period. There is a reason that supermarket cakes are “cheap” and custom bakeries are “expensive”.
As someone who worked in a supermarket bakery as a cake decorator, I know exactly what goes into a supermarket cake. All the cakes were baked in a factory, in bulk, and frozen. The icing? Also made in a factory, using cheaper ingredients (artificial flavors, hydrogenated oils, etc) and shipped to us in big buckets. Ingredient cost of those cakes? Pennies on the dollar. And what about labor? That can vary a bit, but at the time I was making $8/hr. It was all about speed. Take cake out of freezer, slap some frosting from a bucket on there, maybe some airbrushing and a border. Labor cost? $1.50-$4 per cake. THAT is why supermarket cakes are cheap.
Compare that to a custom cake. Each custom cake is handmade, start to finish. High quality ingredients cost more. Have you seen the cost of real vanilla? It’s CRAZY EXPENSIVE. I use real vanilla and real vanilla beans-and I paid $500 for a pound of them. That’s just keeping it real. It takes time to source ingredients, to go shop for ingredients, plus the cost of gas to do so. It takes time to speak to you, the client, and find out what you’re looking for and create a custom design and quote for you. Answering your emails and social media comments and messages takes time. It takes time to bake your cake from scratch, to make the delicious fillings and frostings, to roll and cut and bake your cookies. It takes time-sometimes HOURS and sometimes DAYS to create elements of your order. Then there’s overhead costs to cover, time for cleanup, marketing, etc. And don’t forget education! We didn’t wake up one morning and magically know how to do what we do! It’s taken years of practice, education, and $$$ to get where we are today.
When you buy a custom cake/cookies/cupcakes/cake pops/macarons/whatever... ALL THAT is what you are buying. You’re buying something that is a better quality. It’s supporting local. It’s lovingly created, from start to finish, JUST FOR YOU! What we do does cost more- but it has so much VALUE.
Now, there is no shame in a supermarket cake! Lots of cake decorators working in grocery stores are crazy talented, and they’re fast! I have so much respect for all of them! This post is not meant to hate on them in any way whatsoever. They do a fantastic job with what they have to work with! This is simply pointing out WHY those cakes are priced the way they are, and why custom cakes are more expensive.
We all have budgets. I love a good deal as much as the next person, and I respect someone for sticking to their budget! BUT- please don’t devalue what we custom bakers do just because it may not fit your budget. Cheaper supermarket cakes and custom baked cakes both have their place, but they are NOT the same.
Lastly, within the world of custom bakeries there will be a range of pricing because there is a range of experience level, overhead costs, quality of work, etc. Do some homework, check out their work, buy some cupcakes if you want to taste something before you spend big money on a cake! Find the baker you jive with the best and order from them! Maybe that’s me, and maybe it isn’t, but hopefully you can see the value in what we do. It isn’t “just cake”. It’s a showpiece, a work of art, a WOW factor, a memory, a talking point, something your family and guests will remember 20 years from now. ❤️
